No speaker? No problem for retired Mobile Marine; more Alabama political news (Skinny

View full sizeMaj. Gen. J. Gary Cooper, a member with 100 Black Men of Greater Mobile, is seen in a May 18, 2011, photo taken an editorial board meeting at the Press-Register in Mobile, Alabama. Cooper stepped in to speak when Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley had to cancel due to the weather. (Press-Register/John David Mercer)

MOBILE, Alabama -- When Gov. Robert Bentley canceled his appearance at Thursday’s annual gala for the 100 Black Men of Mobile, the organization turned the podium over to a capable replacement: retired Maj. Gen. Gary Cooper of Mobile.

Cooper, a highly decorated Vietnam veteran who became the first black officer to command a Marine Corps infantry company, vowed to keep the program moving with military discipline. But in recognizing his wife, Beverly Cooper, before the dinner audience, he admitted that he wasn’t always in charge of the chain of command.

“Beverly was a 1st lieutenant in the Virginia National Guard,” he said. “But in all our years of marriage, I’ve never been able to convince her that a major general outranks a National Guard lieutenant.”

Cooper introduced each speaker with a warning to keep their comments brief. And he made no exceptions: “You have two minutes,” he told Mobile Mayor Sam Jones.

“Yes, sir,” Jones responded.

The brisk pace drew a laugh when the group presented its inaugural Pioneer Award to a very surprised Bob Brazier of Mobile.

“I’m really at a loss for words,” Brazier said. “If I’d known this was coming, I’d have prepared a 2-minute speech.”

Bentley, scheduled as the night’s keynote speaker, said he could not travel to Mobile because of bad weather.

GOP hearing postponed

Editor's Note

"The Political Skinny" is an inside look at Alabama politics prepared by the staff of the Press-Register. For more information, e-mail Political Skinny or call 251-219-5623.

The Mobile County Republican Executive Committee met last week to review the membership of a pair of local Republicans after they supported a Constitution Party candidate in the recent special election to fill the Alabama House of Representatives District 105 seat.

Republicans Lee James and Mike Burdine backed Bill Atkinson of Theodore in the race against Republican David Sessions of Grand Bay. Sessions won the election for the south Mobile County seat, and the local GOP said James and Burdine violated committee bylaws by campaigning for a member of another party.

The party met May 24 to conduct a hearing on the matter, but failed to achieve a quorum. Committee chairwoman Terry Lathan told James in an email that the issue will be address at its July 11 quarterly meeting. Lathan told James, who said he’s been a Republican since 1952, that it was his membership on the committee — and not the party — that was being reviewed.

“We hope in the future that you will be cautious in your public support of another party’s candidate so we will not have to revisit this process again,” Lathan wrote. “We appreciate your conservative passion and hope you will use it within our organization’s boundaries. It will only make us stronger and better.”

Fun with numbers in redistricting process

The Alabama Senate last week gave final approval to a plan to redraw the state’s congressional districts to adjust for population changes over the last decade, sending the proposal to Gov. Robert Bentley.

In drawing the new lines, required after each decennial census, Republican lawmakers had to balance geographic and demographic concerns as well as partisan desires to keep as many seats as possible safely in GOP hands.

Anyone with access to the Internet can get a taste for these same considerations with the ReDistricting Game — http://redistrictinggame.org — which was developed three years ago by a professor at the University of Southern California.

“We thought we could use the game to explain a social issue,” said Chris Swaim, a professor in the Interactive Media Division at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. “It seems like a very dry and boring topic. But it has a big impact on our democracy.”

The game allows the player to assume the role of a consultant for the Republicans or Democrats in a fictional state undergoing redistricting. One scenario calls for drawing lines to knock off one of the two congressmen from the opposing party. In another, the player must create a new district that is majority-minority while maintaining his party’s advantage. Still another requires redistricting under the rules of a real reform proposal that would remove partisan considerations from the process.

The political junkie likely will find it addictive.

Swaim said he easily could have produced a game using a real state, but chose a fictional one to allow an equal 50-50 split.

“We wanted to have completely equal left-versus-right jokes,” he said. “It’s important to us to be seen as nonpartisan.”

Swaim said he has designed about 100 other games highlighting social issues, consulting experts in each field. An ecology-themed game called Ecotopia, for example, will launch on Facebook later this year.

Gary Palmer gets an honorary degree

View full sizeGary Palmner of the Alabama Police Institute is seen in this 2008 Press-Register file photo taken at the University of Mobile''s spring commencement ceremonies.

Gary Palmer, president of the Alabama Policy Institute, was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Mobile during its graduation ceremony on May 14.

The school’s president, Dr. Mark Foley, recognized Palmer for his contributions to conservative public policy in the state of Alabama and said, “I don’t know of a man who has had more impact on the state of Alabama and the health of our state than Gary Palmer. I am grateful for Gary’s dedication to mission and his far-reaching influence.”

That’s no baloney

More than 3 times as many Americans would choose to eat lunch and have a chat with President Barack Obama over any of the several Republican hopefuls vying to be elected president in 2012, according to the findings of a new Sachs/Mason-Dixon poll. In a distant second place, the Republican political figure most liked for the same kind of lunch and conversation is former Alaska Governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

The poll, conducted from May 23-24, found Palin leading a pack of GOP hopefuls including former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, Texas U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Minnesota U.S. Rep. Michelle Bachman.

Stunningly, when confronted with the decision to break bread with either President Obama or one of his Republican competitors, 10 percent of Americans said they would rather dine alone.

Political announcements

The Common Sense Campaign will hold a town hall meeting from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Fairhope Public Library. State Sen. Trip Pittman, R-Montrose, will provide an update on recent bills passed in the state Legislature. For more information, call 251-626-7808.

Baldwin County Commissioner Bob James will hold a meet-and-greet reception for county residents at 6 p.m. June 9 at the Daphne City Council chambers. For more information, contact Paula Tillman at 251-580-1695.

The Mobile Area Jewish Foundation will present a program on the U.S.-Israeli relationship featuring Gil Tamary, Washington bureau chief for Israel’s Channel 10 News.

Tamary covers a wide range of Middle East issues from the U.S., and has conducted exclusive interviews with presidents, secretaries of state, the head of the World Bank and other dignitaries.

The program, entitled “Israel-USA: Where do we go from here?“ will begin at 7 p.m. Sunday at the West Regional Branch of the Mobile Public Library. The event is free and open to the public. The library is at 5555 Grelot Road.

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Today’s column includes contributions from Tina Covington, Brendan Kirby and George Talbot.